but everyone, including all the OSU sources, thinks it's only a matter of time.

24/7 is the only board saying Kalis and Dunn have eliminated OSU, but guys don't typically decommit from a school and then subsequently sign with that school (the only Michigan guys I can think of off the top of my head are James McKinney and Will Campbell).

Besides us, where else is he looking? I'm afraid that the Kalis and Dunn decommits do not mean that we will easily pick them up... Usually when a kid is a life-long OSU fan, I wouldnt imagine that they would just commit to UofM (their most hated Rival) without giving other schools a look?

Childhood alliances don't mean much. The recruiting process opens up kids eyes and blinds the bias. Michigan has lost out on several kids that grew up Michigan fans. Ex. Thomas, Zettel, Frost, Depriest. That was just 4*+ guys from last year. This happens all the time.

Michigan and Ohio State may be a different story though. In a hate filled rivalry, I'd imagine it to be more difficult to sway a recruit.

Kalis seems to be favoring Michigan at this point. He's visiting this weekend, and he's friends with Strobel and Wormley. Dunn, from what I know, has been linked to us and Penn St if he were to ever decomitt. We might not necessarily get both, but anywhere is better for them to go than OSU. If I had to guess right now, I'd say we get Kalis but not Dunn. This is just a guess though, I have no hard facts to back it up.

We are obviously in a much better position with both than we were even just a couple weeks ago, so I too am pretty stoked at the possibilities. But if they don't commit soon we will probably lose out on both

I'm sure 'Bama, USC, Florida, and many others will be just as excited to get these 5-stars on campus for a visit. Both of these guys can wait to decide until February and a spot will be there for them no matter where they want to go. I just hope they want to get the drama over with and commit soon

Because of The Game, the rivalry. If you weren't going to OSU, you wanted to go to the other place, and show them they were wrong. Also, it used to be kinda cool to be the rebel kid who went to Michigan and then came home and beat their asses. Not really that strange. The hate doesn't usually come till you play in the game for players. And even then, there's usually respect. (In that game, at least).

Hoke is negatively recruiting the hell out of OSU. He's telling these guys that OSU will get hit harder than USC and they "shouldn't fall for the same (stuff) Lane Kiffen sold all those SC recruits." The national media blitz hurt because it's making it very easy for Hoke (and Bielema and everyone else) to negatively recruit. And these are 17-year-old kids who of course are going to buy what they're being sold.

Exactly. When I hear "negative recruiting," I think of coaches badmouthing each other and perpetuating rumors and innuendo, such as what happened several years ago when someone was telling recruits that Lloyd was very sick and wouldn't be coaching UM much longer - forcing Lloyd to actually hold a press conference to dispell the notion. Hoke isn't doing anything like that at all, he's just laying all of the facts out on the table.

It would be incompetent of Hoke not to be negatively recruiting tOSU right now. In this respect, we should note the difference between honest and dishonest negative recruiting. You can bet that Hoke is telling these kids a much more honest version of the situation than they are getting out of Columbus. We are in competition with tOSU, so of course we will negatively recruit them.

I don't think thats Hoke's style it sounds like a frightened Bucknut crying his eyes out. The same thing happened to our basketball program during all that uncertainty. How hard is it for a high school kid to sit there and say to himself (a) I have no idea who my coach will be (b) I have no idea if ANY of the coaches who are recruiting me will be there and (c) these guys are going to get hit with SOMETHING and we saw what USC got, do I really want to spend my first two years without a bowl. I don't think opposing coaches need to bring that up, its pretty logical.

All that said, even if someone on our staff had to be the one to bring that to these guys attentions, SCREW 'EM, its just desserts for the Buckeyes.

OSU mods were talking about Mattison negatively recruiting against OSU even before Tressel stepped down. Wouldn't be surprised at all if it's true (and if it is, I'm not convinced it's the abhorent "Lloyd Carr has medical issues" kind of negative recruiting).

I absolutely agree that it's not considered negative recruiting. Negative recruiting does not mean simply talking badly about other schools. If Hoke and Mattison are simply telling recruits their honest opinions of the sanctions OSU is going to get (worse than USC, etc., which we mostly believe will happen on this board), then that's not negative recruiting. It's just telling the truth.

To me, negative recruiting is purposely spreading false or unverifiable rumors and information about opposing schools to gain the upper hand. There is a dishonesty and malicious intent in negative recruiting. This is very different than what we are doing, which is simply telling the kids the truth about what is likely to happen.

Doesn't seem like Hoke's style to me. After all, everyone knows what is going on at tosu. No need to negatively recruit. Stress what is good about Michigan, look forward, stress we are entering a new era and you can be part of it. These kids can read. So can their parents and friends. Sounds to me as if the buckeye faithful are trying to come up with an excuse to blame Michigan for troubles they created themselves.

I'd like to know his source on this because I've seen this rumour before and I'm pretty sure it started with message board posters looking for an excuse as to why we`re making inroads on their top targets.

I don't know if it's true, but it IS probable. I mean, that IS what Kiffen did- He told all these recruits they would beat the wrap, even after the hammer was dropped. And that worked! On the hope that everything would be sresolved on appeal, Kiffen brought in a massive class, and these kids were shocked when USC's appeal was denied.

OSU is telling these kids the same thing now. And as with USC, it's easy for anyone outside the fanbase to see the writing on the wall. I don't know if it can even be counted as negative recruiting to point out to these kids that OSU is in fact in serious trouble, and any recryit who listens to the Buckeyes soothing platitudes (re: delusional prayers) is likely to get stuck in the same sort of sinking ship as those Trojans.

But the USC penalties did surprise many people because deep down most people figured USC would get away with it. Everyone assumed the NCAA would remain a paper tiger.

But now the atmosphere is much darker. Even most OSU fans agree the program is gonna take a pretty hard hit. And the media drumbeat is relentless. And everyone saw the USC penalties. Today's potential recruits have much more information and context. There's no way they could remain blissfully ignorant about OSU's problems. Thank god.

Dave Biddle seems pretty well-connected to OSU recruiting but that sounds like the sour grapes of an OSU homer. Why would Hoke even bother to say that when so many people in the media are already saying it? Do the kids even know what Lane Kiffin told his USC recruits? I doubt it...Also, and not that this proves anything, Hoke has twice said good things about Tressel to the media when he could have taken a shot at him.

Turnabout is fair play. I'm sure they are judging Hoke on what Tressel did to Michigan the last few years. THE Ohio State University deserves every consequence they suffer from their cheating. I hope this is just the beginning of an exodus that makes Moses look like a school crossing guard.

Here's the thing, is telling recruits the possible ramifications of their decisions negative recruiting? I didn't have a problem when everyone was recruiting that RR was going to be gone this year...it's reality. As long as people aren't blatantly lying to recruits, I guess I just see it as part of the process.

Why does everybody have to assume that recruits (and their parents, coaches....) are dumb?

Everybody knows what is likely to happen to OSU. If Brady Hoke won't even mention the schools name in an interview, I doubt that he'll do it with a recruit. Brady can take the high road simply by saying:

Michigan plans on playing in bowl games every year.

Michigan has a full complement of scholarships to give and will use those scholarships to build a championship caliber football team.

Michigan has the most Big Ten titles in Big Ten history and if you sign with us, we are committed to bringing home more championships.

The recruits (and their parents, coaches....) can connect the dots. There's absolutely no reason to utter a word about OSU during a recruiting visit. They've already done the damage to themselves.

is doing any negative recruiting. Why ... tsio, ESPN and other news sources are doing all the negative recruiting for you. This is Michigan ! Just roll out who has signed ... let them look at Brady's NC ring & have GM talk about how the Raven's defense will mirror Michigan's and that should do it. Don't even need Auburn's hostesses ... wait let me think about that last one ....

I dated a girl once who left a space before all punctuation marks in text messages. It honestly contributed to the breakup. Proper puncuation > sexual attraction, every time.

More topically, I agree with most of the above posters; pointing out the unwisdom of commiting to Ohio State right now does not have to be slanderous, and there are plenty of ways that it could be done within what I would consider ethical bounds.

Well he better be. This is a special circumstance where I'm sure all schools that are going head to head with OSU for a recruit will say something about it, as they should. The recruits need to know that they will get hit... This isn't the typical "negative recruiting" in my mind.

We don't have any kind of evidence or even a rumor that Hoke, Mattison, et al, are running around saying things that are misleading or downright false. I think that's what people associate negative recruiting with. And that's not happening here.

This is not negative recruiting, its what happens to any coach/school, I want player A, School B wants player A, I say hey dont go there they suck!, I get player A. Silly Bucknuts recruitzing is not for youz.

Well Hoke definitely experienced the the effects of the recruiting pitch of the pathetic Lane Kiffin. I don't know exactly what he was selling those kids, but after signing 30 kids I can tell you he definitely lied about the implications of the NCAA repeal/investigation.

Yes, NCAA infractions are an issue. We had to deal with recruiting with the results of an investigation pending. Numerous recruits mentioned they wanted to hear about the punnishment before committing to UofM. And numerous programs/coaches negatively recuited us during it. Nonetheless that doesn't make it justified.

But, if these kids are being sold on Hoke's/UofM's pitch, why are they not being sold on Fickell's pitch? If they are lifelong OSU fans wouldn't they be more open to listening to Fickell. Also, there is a chance Ohio gets hit harder than USC if enough evidence comes to light. Just as we downplayed the NCAA infractions with Practicegate, Ohio is massively playing down their infractions. I doubt Hoke has to say much besides: Ohio is going to get hit hard by NCAA and I think it could be worse than USC. Lane Kiffin lied to kids when I was recruiting out on the West Coast for San Diego St, and I want you to know the implications of the investigation. Plus, we are looking to close most of our class up by end of summer/start of season, so spots at UofM might not be available down the road, if that impacts your decision.

I have to believe that Brandon, in the wake of all the unpleasantness surrounding RR, let Hoke know the degree to which he wants M to be seen as a program that does things the right way. Hoke says it every six seconds. Plus, he knows there's no need for him to go negative right now. He wins by taking the high ground.

The Dunns are just keeping things quiet, (seemingly) not wanting to burn any bridges before they know what Bri'onte wants to do. They're smart to hold on to the status quo until that time, especially since (let's be honest) the kid would probably be a lock for OSU in a normal year.

and had to play my senior year still I'd do whatever I could to not pissoff the rabid foaming at the mouth koolaid drinking slappies during my last year in ohio. I definitely wouldn't come out and say "I'm switching to Michigan" in the middle of the summer. I'd take visits and silent commit.

I feel like every time there is any news about Bri'onte Dunn and his commitment status, his dad comes through to reassure everyone that his son is still committed to OSU... His dad seems to be a huge voice in his 'close to the chest' recruitment... Is his dad pushing OSU?

I could see how you might think that, but I think differently. I think his dad is just trying to absorb as much of the pressure/media attention/fans' attention as possible (which is a good thing). He's trying to make his son's life a little less hectic at this crazy time -- he'll answer the questions and say the things that will keep OSU fans from hating on Bri'onte, while Bri'onte can focus on his decision, football, and school. I know that it's what I would do for my (eventual) son.

I don't think there's a school anywhere that isn't saying the same thing. Fans underestimate just how nasty recruiting is. Coaches are making sales pitches against each other, and their livelihoods can ultimately be at stake. The only thing that's really considered out of bounds is personal attacks on a rival coach (or, in the case of Carr at the end of his career, spreading rumors about ill health). Some coaches might make the negative comparisons a greater part of their sales pitch than others, but I'm sure they all wade into that area on occasion.

I remember reading a story on Yahoo a while ago and it was about Tommy Bowden recruiting against Bobby Bowden and he was talking about how bad recruiting can get. Anyway, the gist of it was he was doing an in-home visit for a kid both Clemson and FSU wanted. So Tommy's making his pitch and everything's going well and as he's leaving, Bobby rolls up to the house, fancy car and greets the family while telling Tommy to make sure and call his mother about something. Completely emasculated him in front of the recruit and their family. Kid ended up committing to FSU.

I found the story hilarious but I can imagine some of the lengths coaches will go to land a recruit.

The more and more we hear about Dunn (numerous rumors about decommitting) each time the family affirms he is still committed to Ohio and is monitoring the situation. It just seems Dunn really wants to stay at Ohio, and only if they do get hit hard or it is punnishment is imminently obvious then he will open his recruiting. Everytime it seems we are making significant headway, there is always some small stumbling block and getting Dunn seems less realistic.

Maybe we should try to refrain from the rumors and stop putting pressure on the family, putting them in a defensive position? Nothing's to be gained by pushing them to reassert his commitment, whatever his or their real sentiments might be.

(Yes, I know this board isn't the primary source of those rumors and there's little anyone here can do about it.)

On Dunn's 247 profile it had Ohio State as a commit with Michigan and Michigan State as warm and all other teams cold. On Rivals it had him as a soft verbal to Ohio State with Michigan being medium interest and everyone else behind. Hopefully this is a good sign for U-M.

Who cares if we're "negatively recruiting OSU"?? They're providing their own material, after all. This isn't Lane Kiffin telling Alshon Jeffrey he'll be pumping gas for the rest of his life if he goes to South Carolina. It's not like we're recruiting against a clean program that never did no wrong and Hoke is telling them lies about Columbus.

This situation sells itself. As one of the (very rare on Bucknuts, I believe) smarter posters said his own self: it's entirely self-inflicted. If Hoke didn't ride the sanctions for all they're worth I'd be awfully disappointed. Oh, and incredibly surprised if Tressel wasn't telling recruits the same stuff when we had a few speed bumps of our own.

Hill and Dunn seem like very similar backs. Hill is 6'2" 220, Dunn is 6'2" 215, they're both "one cut and go" types and they both run 4.6. It seems Dunn may have slightly better jukes. Is that why he's got 5 stars instead of Hill's 3?

Under the article about Kalis decommitting are just priceless. Here is a gem from a delusional buckeye fan named OSUboost:

"I would like for Mr Kalis to please review our recruiting class of 2011, 2010, and 2009. Please youtube all those 4 and 5 star defense players that he will be playing against, instead of with for at least 3-4 years. Does anyone honestly believe OSU is done? Give me a freakin break, the team on campus now has more future NFL players on it than any other BIG10 team. Oh and since when is scUM back? Last I remember there current roster read like a pop warner team, with the exception of footloose robinson, who can only stay healthy for 9 games or so. No matter who ends up being the coach of TOSU, you can take 3 things to the bank: 1.) NCAA ruling will not be as bad as everyone is claiming, thats fact, visit ncaa.com and read up. 2.) TOSU will continue to have 10+ win seasons including beating scUM. and 3.) To all the Ohio recruits offered schollies, TOSU never rebuilds, TOSU always RELOADS, Go Bucks, see you in the fall!!!"

Better speculation comes from Sam Webb, who said this morning he doesn't believe either Kalis or Wormley will commit this weekend. Though we are in good position with Kalis and remain in good position with Wormley.

I seen this coming a week ago with the first decommit from OSU Ejuan Price. All I can say fans is Michigan may end up with the most Ohio prospects in the nation when its all said and done !!!!!!! LOL :) And I was thinking if they car pool they can make a pit stop here in my home town and grab Wormley!! GO BLUE!!

These buckeye slappies are hilarious. We don't need to use negative recruiting every media outlet is doing it for us, except it's all the truth and they brought all this on themselves and now they want people to feel sorry for them. I think it's pathetic.

Everyone chill, I'm not shocked by these recruits decommiting, listen, I live in columbus and deal with these pompous, unrealistic, big headed O lie O State fans, they are killin these two kids here, but what's even more typical is that they actually think the NCAA will not be hard on them, they think they'll still have a ten win season and actually servive this GOD sent ordeal, me I'm just walkin round Columbus with my block M shirt and loving every second of this magnificent ordeal...GBOD!!!!!! Gotta be careful though cause these bumbling buckeyes are on a witch hunt for anyone or anything Maize & Blue.